DICK KENNEY: A prank, a prom and a football game

Like the many before us and the thousands who came after us, we thought our year was the best. I mean, we knew we were going to the moon that summer. How cool was that? Of the thousands of times I’ve driven by the Old Barn, I can’t help but think of the memories I have of hanging out on those front steps before and after school.

Like the many before us and the thousands who came after us, we thought our year was the best. I mean, we knew we were going to the moon that summer. How cool was that? Of the thousands of times I’ve driven by the Old Barn, I can’t help but think of the memories I have of hanging out on those front steps before and after school.

I remember when my buddy Jungle and I decided to pull one of our many pranks. The room above the front steps on the second floor was always unoccupied after school was out. We knew there would be the usual 20-30 kids hanging down below on the top landing.

One day, we decided to go for it. First we poured a big bag of flour and then a bucket of water over the crowd. Needless to say, there were some unhappy guys. As they ran inside and up the stairs to try and catch us, we disappeared. They could never prove who did it. The two who got the worst of it, Ken Prouty and Paul Picarski, were pretty sure who was responsible. We ended up getting what was coming to us, but it was worth it!

My best memory had to be the day of our Senior Prom. While standing on those same front steps and signing each other’s year books, a big black stretch limo suddenly pulled up in front. We watched as the chauffeur got out and opened the trunk. He pulled out this big sign and put against the passenger side door. It read “Reserved for Dick and Deb.” What is considered the norm today was unheard of back then. Deb’s dad, Tinker, is a man who was way ahead of his time.

Oh yeah. I have to throw in another great memory which was being a part of the football team that beat North Quincy, preventing them from winning the G.B.L. Championship.

Our class song says it all… “Those Were the Days, My Friends.”

Dick Kenney lives with his wife, Lisa, in the house in Houghs Neck where he grew up. He is a mental health worker at Pembroke Hospital.